The present invention relates to antennas for allowing portable electronic devices to perform wireless transfer of data and in particular, to such antennas incorporated into a garment shaped to be worn about the upper body of a user.
Traditionally, mobile telecommunications equipment including mobile telephones and radio receivers have been provided with their own antenna to form a self contained functional device. More recently, work in the field of wearable electronics has included attempts to combine and integrate electronic equipment, including telecommunications equipment with items of clothing. Such integration can be beneficial in a number of ways including improved ease of carrying electronic equipment, improved functionality and elimination of duplicated components. An example where the last two benefits are realised would be the automatic routing and switching of audio from audio reproduction equipment and a mobile telephone through the same pair of earphones.
In some instances the ability to distribute and integrate equipment in clothing allows for new types of component to be employed which can result in improved performance. An example new component is an antenna of laminar construction such as the one described in International patent application WO-A-01/39326 published on May 31, 2001 claiming priority from British patent application number 9927842.6 (applicants reference PHB 34417) filed on Nov. 26, 1999 in the name of Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. entitled xe2x80x98Improved Fabric Antennaxe2x80x99. The antenna is primarily intended for use with mobile telecommunications applications and comprises first and second spaced layers of electrically conducting fabric, a layer of electrically insulating fabric between the first and second layers, first connection means by which electrical contact is made between the first and second layers, and second connection means by which the first and second layers are connectable to telecommunications equipment. The arrangement constitutes a so-called xe2x80x98planar inverted F antenna (PIFA)xe2x80x99.
That antenna is intended for incorporation into a shoulder portion of a garment in the form of a shoulder pad or into a lapel of a garment. However, such an arrangement is not always an option. This may be due to aesthetic reasons, in particular when the garment has no arm portions at all, or no lapel. In the case of garments provided with detachable arm portions, the presence of the arm portion attachment fastenings (such as zips) may rule out the possibility of accommodating a shoulder pad antenna as the antenna can easily get in the way of, or foul correct operation of, the fastening device. There is a need to include an antenna in a garment in an ergonomic and practical way.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an antenna that may be accommodated within a garment, which device seeks to overcome at least some of the above mentioned problems.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a garment comprising an antenna and means for connection of the same to a portable electronic device to permit wireless communications of said device via said antenna;
characterised in that the garment is shaped to be worn about the upper body of the user and the antenna is supported by an antenna mounting of the garment so that when the garment is being worn the antenna is held in the vicinity of the back between the shoulder blades and the antenna mounting is configured with a shape and size to accommodate the antenna in the vicinity of the back between the shoulder blades.
Such positioning of the antenna takes advantage of the naturally occurring dip between a persons shoulder blades to accommodate at least some of the thickness of the antenna while the garment is being worn. This helps to suppress any apparent bulge in the garment caused by the presence of the antenna.
The antenna mounting may include a body portion configured with a shape and size such that it is capable of being at least partially accommodated in the vicinity of a wearers back between their shoulder blades.
The antenna mounting may include straps which extend during use over the shoulders of a wearer towards the front of the wearers torso. In this case the straps may be configured to extend during use at the front of the wearers torso to at least partially counterbalance the weight of the antenna. By incorporating this arrangement of antenna and antenna mounting in a garment the weight of the antenna is more evenly distributed over the garment and therefore contributes to the users comfort while they are wearing the garment having the antenna.
The antenna may be removed from the garment prior to washing of the garment.
The antenna mounting may be removed from the garment prior to washing of the garment.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is provided an antenna suitable for use in a garment made in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention.
These and other aspects of the present invention appear in the appended claims which are incorporated herein by reference and to which the reader is now referred.